A blog dedicated to coverage of rock news, reviews of CD's/DVD's, live gigs and interviews with musicians who have made rock music great!
Coverage of hard rock, classic rock, AOR and popular melodic rock music across the genre.
This blog is the creation of Alun Williams, a Brit now living in Michigan whose previous credits include writing for the following sites:
www.classicrock.about.com
www.classicrockrevisited.com
and www.rocknrolluniverse.com (Now gone)
I hope you enjoy your visit here!

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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Brief News Update for Sunday 20th March, 2011

Dio Tribute shows on the way, with ex-Dio members

I guess it was to be expected ...

After the Heaven and Hell guys decided go ahead with their performance at last years High Voltage festival in London, with Glenn Hughes and Jorn Lande stepping in for the late Ronnie James Dio RIP, there are Dio tribute shows on the horizon.

It does appear to have the blessing of Ronnie's widow Wendy Dio, as she has announced at the Ronnie James Dio website.

Here's the message:

DIO Disciples to tour, says Wendy Dio

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you know that Rudy (Sarzo), Simon (Wright), Craig (Goldy) and Scott (Warren) will be playing some shows in Europe together with Ripper Owens and Toby Jepson as DIO Disciples.

There will never be another Ronnie, but we want to keep his music alive and hope you will support the band and become one of the DIO Disciples.

We will post the UK/European tour dates as they are confirmed, and we are planning some US dates also.

Hope to see you at one of the shows.

With love, Wendy

I can only say this. It's cool guys and no one deserves it more than Ronnie, but I really think Jorn would've been a much better suit to the line up.

I'm sorry, no disrespect to either of those two frontmen, but I really don't either of them could do Ronnie justice.

For those that don't know these guys backgrounds, Ripper has sung with Judas Priest, when he replaced Rob Halford, no easy task I know and he's also sung for Yngwie Malmsteen.

Toby Jepson used to sing with the very underrated Little Angels, he was also a part of Fastway when Eddie Clarke put the band back on the road without original singer Dave King and then he took on the job of fronting Scottish rockers Gun.

You call it folks, I don't know, I mean the other guys are fine but Jorn Lande would be the guy if you ask me, but maybe Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice will pick him up to continue Heaven and Hell, who knows?

Thin Lizzy will be the featured guests on the nationally syndicated radio show Rockline with host Bob Coburn on Wednesday March 23, 2010 at 8:30pm PT / 11:30pm ET.

Fans are encouraged to speak with Thin Lizzy by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to http://www.rocklineradio.com/

This broadcast will be available for two weeks on the Rockline website beginning the day following the show.

REO SPEEDWAGON TO OFFER SPECIAL LIMITED-EDITION INSTANT CDs OF THEIR LIVE SHOWS ALONG TOUR

Immediately Following Select Shows, Fans Can Take the Live Performances Home With Them, In a Special Keepsake

Los Angeles, CA - March, 2011

Giving fans a chance to keep the memories strong, REO Speedwagon is offering fans a very limited-edition instant CD from each of their live shows of select stops along their current tour. The band has partnered with Abbey Road Live U.S. to release "instant" live disc sets within minutes after hitting the last note on stage. To date, four shows have already been recorded; and the next shows to offer this recording are March 18th, in Biloxi, MS; and March 19th in Cherokee, NC.

Abbey Road Live U.S. is the leader in the field of delivering high quality content immediately after an event. Each show will be brilliantly captured and mixed on-the-fly, and will be packaged in a commemorative, high-quality two-disc DigiPak, emblazoned with the band's iconic logo in gold foil. Each collectible disc can be purchased for $25, available at each show or www.abbeyroadliveus.com. These will be strictly limited edition products, and after the edition runs out, no more will ever be sold. Initially, REO and Abbey Road Live conducted a couple of test shows, in Bloomington, IL and Milwaukee, WI. The results of the tests were so well received that the shows were put on sale to ecstatic fans.

Zach Bair of Abbey Road Live U.S., said "As a long time fan of REO Speedwagon, I'm thrilled to be working with this band! They are in fact one of the greatest rock bands of their time and still are. Their amazing live sound, which Abbey Road Live captures perfectly is as good now as it was 20 or even 30 years ago."

Pre-sales for these very special discs are happening now online, and sales will only continue until each limited edition is sold out. Discs may either be picked up at the end of the show, or shipped home.

ABOUT REO SPEEDWAGON

Kevin Cronin, lead singer and principle songwriter; bass player Bruce Hall; Neal Doughty, keyboard player and founding member; lead guitarist Dave Amato, and drummer Bryan Hitt, are REO Speedwagon. Since the release of their first record in 1971, the band has produced 17 critically acclaimed albums including the monumental 10 million seller, Hi Infidelity, has scored 13 Top 40 singles, including the Number One hits "Can't Fight This Feeling" and "Keep On Loving You," timeless classics including "Roll With The Changes", "Ridin' The Storm Out", "Take It On The Run", "Time For Me To Fly" and "Keep Pushin." Their recent album, Find Your Own Way Home, featured the radio favorites "I Needed To Fall" and "Smilin' In The End." REO Speedwagon has sold more than 40 million albums to date. For more information about REO Speedwagon and the current tour, please visit www.reospeedwagon.com or Facebook, at www.facebook.com/reospeedwagon

About Abbey Road Live U.S.

Abbey Road Live U. S. is focused on developing new and exciting revenue streams for artists and labels, and is the leader in the field of delivering high quality instant content immediately after a concert to live music fans. Lead by Zach Bair, former CEO of industry pioneer Immediatek/DiscLive (OTCBB: IMKI), the ARL team is the most experienced in the space. The company has recorded concerts around the world, and provides live music fans with an exciting, high-quality replacement for "bootleg recordings." For additional information, please visit www.abbeyroadliveus.com. You can also find Abbey Road Live U.S. on Facebook, at www.facebook.com/abbeyroadliveus

Black Country Communion new album ‘2′ and US Tour in June 2011 Critically Acclaimed ‘Savior of Classic Rock‘ BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION Announce Second Album ‘2,’ Will Be Released June 14th, 2011
BCC to Embark On Full U.S. Summer Tour Starting June 9th

LOS ANGELES, March, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Black Country Communion, the Anglo-American rock supergroup featuring the talents of bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Sabbath), blues rock guitarist/vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, UFO, Foreigner), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater), has announced the title of its much-anticipated second album. The album will be called “2” and will be released in the U.S. on June 14th, 2011 on the J&R Adventures label.

On June 9th, the band will kick off a U.S. Summer Tour in San Diego, CA. It will take them across the country with stops in Anaheim, CA; Salt Lake City, UT; St. Louis, MO; Indianapolis, IN; Hampton Beach, NH; Sayreville, NJ; and Washington, DC.

Seeing the band perform live is a rare treat for fans. In fact, the band has only performed a full gig together twice with two sold-out shows in the UK in Dec. 2010. The first was to a 3,000 strong crowd on Dec. 29, 2010, deep in the heart of the Black Country at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall. The Birmingham Mail called the performance “rip-roaring” and “breath-taking” and the Express & Star said, “From the moment Hughes’ thunderous bass riff introduced ‘Black Country’ it was like a torch had been lit underneath the famous old venue, the ghosts of rock Christmases past roaring into the present.”

Black Country Communion released its self-titled debut album in September 2010 to rave reviews. MOJO gave the album four stars and Goldmine said it’s “Possibly, the best hard rock album of 2010.” Music Radar described it as “a potent and stomping collection of riff-heavy rockers that will undoubtedly stun listeners.”

During its debut week, the album entered the BillboardTop 200 Chart at #53 and also hit #18 on the Rock Albums Chart and #6 on the Indie Chart. In the UK, it stormed to the #1 position on the Official UK Top 40 Rock Album Chart. It also charted at #13 in the Official UK Top 40 Album Chart and #2 in the Official UK Top 40 Indie Album Chart. It hit #3 in Classic Rock Magazine’s “Critics Album of the Year” poll, while Planet Rock radio listeners crowned them Best New Band of 2010.